The new venue will have longer hours, French fries and a full bar

Sight-seers in Lawrenceville may have noticed that a new — well, sort of — Butler Street hot-dog spot quietly opened during the first week of January. But although the location is new, the name and reputation aren't.

Franktuary has been a Downtown lunch fixture for the better part of a decade. But the little hot-dog shop in the back of Trinity Cathedral has its limitations, explains co-owner Tim Tobitsch. The location prevents the shop from being open evenings and weekends; the shop can't have a fryer without doing major renovations; and serving beer in a church, while not strictly illegal, seems tacky at best.

So Tobitsch and co-owner Megan Lindsey decided to expand, keeping their Downtown location (and their well-received hot-dog truck) while opening a bigger location on Butler.

"The Downtown store seats 30, and is open about 25 hours a week," says Tobitsch. "In Lawrenceville, we seat 90, and when we get to the hours we plan to be open, we'll be open about 100 hours." That's potentially a twelve-fold expansion.

Much of the menu is the same, with additions like fries — and poutine, as made popular by the Franktuary truck — plus a full bar, replete with specialty cocktails. The cocktail list was developed by Lindsey, consultant Marie Perriello and bartender Roger Harvey.

Franktuary hopes to be open for Sunday brunch next month, but for now, Sundays are a day of rest for the new staff.